UCLA’s comeback effort falls short against Cal State Fullerton

Wednesday, 4/30/97 UCLA’s comeback effort falls short against
Cal State Fullerton Scoring opportunities not taken advantage of;
Bruin’s season drops to 36-14

By Tim Yun Daily Bruin Contributor UCLA’s road to the College
World Series in Omaha, Neb. took a minor detour last night, as the
Bruins lost a barn-burner, 11-8 to the Cal State Fullerton Titans.
The Bruins (36-14-1) went into the top of the ninth inning behind
by five runs, and they made a valiant comeback effort, but could
only muster two runs. The two teams put on a hitting clinic as both
clubs combined for a total of 30 hits and 19 runs. The Bruin
offense was able to jump on the Titan pitchers for four home runs.
Junior right fielder Eric Byrnes blasted his 14 homer of the year.
Junior shortstop Troy Glaus added another home run to his own UCLA
career record, as he smashed his 27th round-tripper of the season.
However, the night belonged to sophomore center fielder Eric Valent
as he kept his hot bat swinging. Sunday afternoon he hit for the
cycle, and Tuesday night he went 2-for-5, while hitting his 17th
and 18th home runs of the year. His two home runs accounted for
four of the team’s eight runs. The Bruins did not take advantage of
many scoring opportunities against Fullerton (30-19-1), as the team
left 10 runners on base. Freshman starting pitcher Gabe Crecion
scattered nine hits and allowed four earned runs over his four
innings of work. He also walked one and struck out two batters as
his season record dropped to 1-2. Pitchers Dan Keller and Nick St.
George came on in middle relief and were blasted for six hits and
five earned runs in only 3 2/3 innings of relief work. The Titans
used a combination of four pitchers to hold on for the victory over
the Bruins. Starting pitcher Mike Garner pitched only three innings
as the Bruin batters tagged him with five hits and three runs.
Pitchers Scott Hild, Tim Baron and Mike Greenlee came on in relief
and held the Bruins at bay for the rest of the game. They allowed
only five hits and five earned runs to preserve the victory, which
improved their overall record to 30-19-1, and boasted an impressive
17-7-0 record at Titan Stadium. The Bruins’ season record on the
other hand, dropped to 36-14. This loss was just another example of
the team’s tendency to play poorly during the weekday
non-conference games. In their last seven weekday games, the Bruins
hold an unimpressive record of 3-4. They have not been having a
spectacular month of April, hovering around the .500 mark for the
month. Cal State Fullerton 11, UCLA 8